Microsoft travel back to 2002 and release a phone with a numeric keypad.

It comes in two versions, either a single or a dual SIM model and, if you can ignore the fact that it’s on the Windows Phone-powered Lumia pages or the fact that it’s made by Microsoft, you can travel back to 2002. Back then Microsoft could also deliver a phone with a numeric keypad and a colour screen, so it’s good to see them doing exactly the same thing some 13 years later.

This is your standard “I just want a phone that I can put numbers into” phone, and has a 29 day battery life. Basically, they’ve stumbled across the design for the Nokia C2 and thought, “Screw it, let’s make that again under a different name, because it sold quite well last time and it might just keep our mobile division going”.

Nokia C2

The press release, get this, says that the Nokia 222..

Boasts a 2-megapixel camera, (and) the Nokia 222 helps you to simply capture your world–just point and click.

Boasts? Boasts!??!

I don’t think any phone will be proud or boastful of a 2 megapixel camera. Anyway, things get worse as Microsoft start mentioning MSN Weather, the Opera Mini Browser and the fact that it has Bing Search.

Oohh here comes a video of the thing. Notice just how much the interface looks like the original Microsoft Smartphone GUI.

WELCOME BACK 2002..

WHAT!? Why is that man taking a photo. There is simply no point. That 2 megapixel camera will produce an image which will never be good enough to share online, let alone print. Let’s all point at him trying to take a photo of his girlfriend.

THERE’S NO POINT MATE. IT’LL BE GRAINY. YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS GOING TO LEAVE YOU FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS A BETTER PHONE.

Sure, I might poke fun, but the Nokia 222 and Nokia 222 Dual SIM will be available globally in select markets from September, priced at…

…… $37.

That’s £23.90.

Cheap for you, probably no mark-up for Microsoft, but cheap. It’ll probably prove popular if the existing feature-phone fans haven’t already upgraded to cheap Androids, with better cameras.